Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticized the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what he termed a disgraceful attempt to glorify reckless borrowing while millions of Nigerians endure worsening hunger, poverty, fear, and despair.
On Thursday, May 28, Atiku responded to comments from the presidency suggesting that Nigeria's borrowing level is lower than that of some African countries. He stated that the presidency has once again demonstrated a dangerous disconnect from the grim realities confronting ordinary Nigerians.
Atiku Condemns Borrowing Amid Hardship
In a statement issued by his senior special assistant on public communication, Phrank Shaibu, and sent to Legit.ng, Atiku argued that no responsible government measures economic success by the amount of debt it accumulates relative to other nations. Instead, success should be measured by whether citizens can afford food, live safely, run businesses, and look to the future with hope.
According to Atiku, the Tinubu administration has tragically reduced governance to a public relations exercise where suffering citizens are fed with statistics while their daily realities deteriorate at an alarming pace.
The statement read: "It is both astonishing and insulting that at a time when millions of Nigerians can barely afford one meal a day, when parents are withdrawing children from school because of crushing hardship, when businesses are collapsing under unbearable electricity tariffs and inflation, and when entire communities are being overrun by terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers, the presidency is celebrating debt figures as though indebtedness itself were an economic achievement."
Borrowing Without Benefits
Atiku acknowledged that borrowing is not inherently bad when it is tied to productive investments that improve lives, expand infrastructure, strengthen national security, boost agriculture, and drive economic growth. However, he lamented that under the current administration, increased borrowing has coincided with worsening insecurity, rising hunger, declining purchasing power, and growing public despair across the country.
Nigeria is currently seeking a $1.25 billion loan from the World Bank for reforms, job creation, and competitive enhancement. This loan, expected to be approved by June, will further increase Nigeria's growing public debt level.
Insecurity and Economic Decline
Atiku highlighted the irony of the Tinubu administration: despite unprecedented borrowing and painful economic policies imposed on Nigerians, the average citizen is worse off today than ever before.
He stated: "Across the country, farmers can no longer safely access their farmlands because vast territories have effectively fallen under the control of armed gangs and terrorists. Food production has declined sharply because rural communities now live under constant threat of attacks, abductions, and killings. The inevitable result is what Nigerians are currently witnessing — astronomical food prices, widespread hunger, malnutrition, and rising anger among citizens abandoned by their own government."
The former vice president said it was particularly shameful that government officials continue to speak casually about debt while insecurity has reached a level where citizens now budget for ransom payments the same way they budget for school fees or rent.
He queried: "In many parts of Nigeria today, travelling by road has become a gamble with death. Families go to bed praying not to receive midnight calls announcing the abduction of loved ones. Villages are sacked almost routinely while those in power appear more concerned about image management than decisive action. What exactly are Nigerians benefiting from all these loans if insecurity continues to spread and the economy continues to suffocate?"
Accusations of Mismanagement
Atiku accused the administration of weaponising propaganda to distract Nigerians from the catastrophic consequences of its economic mismanagement. He added: "No nation becomes prosperous by borrowing to finance consumption, sustain wasteful government lifestyles, and paper over policy failures. Countries that borrow responsibly do so to expand productivity, create jobs, secure critical infrastructure, and improve the welfare of their citizens. In Nigeria today, however, citizens see no correlation between the mounting debt profile and improvement in their daily lives."
He recalled that the administration in which he served alongside former President Olusegun Obasanjo pursued difficult but disciplined economic reforms that eventually freed Nigeria from the crippling burden of Paris Club debt and restored global confidence in the Nigerian economy. He said it is tragic that a government that inherited a struggling but manageable economy has plunged the nation into deeper debt, deeper poverty, deeper insecurity, and deeper despair within such a short period, yet still expects applause from suffering citizens.
Call for Honest Response
Atiku warned that no amount of media spin can hide the growing frustration across the country. He stressed that Nigerians are not interested in comparisons with other African countries but in whether their own lives are improving.
He said: "Nigerians do not care about statistical gymnastics from government spokespersons. They care about whether food is affordable, whether their children are safe, whether businesses can survive, whether farmers can return to their lands, and whether the future still holds any promise. Sadly, under this administration, the answer to those questions is becoming increasingly bleak."
Conclusively, he urged the Tinubu administration to abandon propaganda and confront the harsh realities facing the nation with sincerity, competence, urgency, and compassion before the country slips further into economic and social instability.
Atiku also addressed speculation about his retirement from politics, stating that insinuations that he has quit active politics are fake news. Ahead of the 2027 elections, he accused anti-democratic elements of attempting to create confusion and dampen the momentum of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
